Scheduling substrate routing and processing

Abstract

A method includes determining queue times associated with operations of a sequence recipe. The operations are associated with production of substrates in a substrate processing system. The method further includes generating a schedule based on the queue times. The method further includes transmitting the schedule to a controller of the substrate processing system. The controller is to control the substrate processing system to produce the substrates based on the schedule.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method comprising:
 determining a plurality of queue times associated with a plurality of operations of a sequence recipe, the plurality of operations being associated with production of a plurality of substrates in a substrate processing system, the plurality of operations comprising one or more revisit operations of a respective substrate revisiting a corresponding processing chamber; 
 identifying a plurality of time durations corresponding to the plurality of operations; 
 calculating, based on a maximum time duration of the plurality of time durations, a takt time for the plurality of substrates, wherein the takt time is a calculated pace corresponding to an amount of time between a previous substrate and a subsequent substrate entering the substrate processing system, the takt time being associated with the plurality of operations comprising the one or more revisit operations; 
 generating a schedule based on the takt time and the plurality of queue times; and 
 transmitting the schedule to a controller of the substrate processing system, wherein the controller is to control the substrate processing system to produce the plurality of substrates based on the schedule. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of queue times is associated with a corresponding artificial delay of a corresponding substrate after completion of a corresponding operation of the plurality of operations. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of time durations are associated with a plurality of devices of the substrate processing system. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the takt time is determined based on a bottleneck operation of the plurality of operations in the sequence recipe. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 4  further comprising receiving topology information and historical timing information associated with the substrate processing system, wherein the bottleneck operation is identified based on the topology information and the historical timing information. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of operations are associated with transporting and processing the plurality of substrates in the substrate processing system. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1  further comprising generating sequence recipe constraints with queue variables for the plurality of operations, wherein the determining of the plurality of queue times comprises using a linear programming solver to solve the queue variables from the sequence recipe constraints. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the determining of the plurality of queue times is to resolve robot conflicts of the substrate processing system. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more revisit operations comprise a revisiting sequence, and wherein the method further comprises converting the revisiting sequence to a non-revisiting sequence comprising a sub-sequence that is performing the revisiting sequence. 
     
     
       10. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed cause a processing device to:
 determine a plurality of queue times associated with a plurality of operations of a sequence recipe, the plurality of operations being associated with production of a plurality of substrates in a substrate processing system, the plurality of operations comprising one or more revisit operations of a respective substrate revisiting a corresponding processing chamber; 
 identify a plurality of time durations corresponding to the plurality of operations; 
 calculate, based on a maximum time duration of the plurality of time durations, a takt time for the plurality of substrates, wherein the takt time is a calculated pace corresponding to an amount of time between a previous substrate and a subsequent substrate entering the substrate processing system, the takt time being associated with the plurality of operations comprising the one or more revisit operations; 
 generate a schedule based on the takt time and the plurality of queue times; and 
 transmit the schedule to a controller of the substrate processing system, wherein the controller is to control the substrate processing system to produce the plurality of substrates based on the schedule. 
 
     
     
       11. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of  claim 10 , wherein each of the plurality of queue times is associated with a corresponding artificial delay of a corresponding substrate after completion of a corresponding operation of the plurality of operations. 
     
     
       12. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of  claim 10 , wherein the plurality of time durations are associated with a plurality of devices of the substrate processing system. 
     
     
       13. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of  claim 10 , wherein the takt time is determined based on a bottleneck operation of the plurality of operations in the sequence recipe. 
     
     
       14. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of  claim 13 , wherein the processing device is further to receive topology information and historical timing information associated with the substrate processing system, wherein the bottleneck operation is identified based on the topology information and the historical timing information. 
     
     
       15. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of  claim 10 , wherein the plurality of operations are associated with transporting and processing the plurality of substrates in the substrate processing system. 
     
     
       16. A system comprising:
 memory; and 
 a processing device coupled to the memory, the processing device to:
 determine a plurality of queue times associated with a plurality of operations of a sequence recipe, the plurality of operations being associated with production of a plurality of substrates in a substrate processing system, the plurality of operations comprising one or more revisit operations of a respective substrate revisiting a corresponding processing chamber; 
 identify a plurality of time durations corresponding to the plurality of operations; 
 calculate, based on a maximum time duration of the plurality of time durations, a takt time for the plurality of substrates, wherein the takt time is a calculated pace corresponding to an amount of time between a previous substrate and a subsequent substrate entering the substrate processing system, the takt time being associated with the plurality of operations comprising the one or more revisit operations; 
 generate a schedule based on the plurality of queue times; and 
 transmit the schedule to a controller of the substrate processing system, wherein the controller is to control the substrate processing system to produce the plurality of substrates based on the schedule. 
 
 
     
     
       17. The system of  claim 16 , wherein each of the plurality of queue times is associated with a corresponding artificial delay of a corresponding substrate after completion of a corresponding operation of the plurality of operations. 
     
     
       18. The system of  claim 16 , wherein the plurality of time durations are associated with a plurality of devices of the substrate processing system. 
     
     
       19. The system of  claim 16 , wherein the takt time is determined based on a bottleneck operation of the plurality of operations in the sequence recipe. 
     
     
       20. The system of  claim 19 , wherein the processing device is further to receive topology information and historical timing information associated with the substrate processing system, wherein the bottleneck operation is identified based on the topology information and the historical timing information.